A person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor. If he refuse to plead or answer, and do not confess his guilt, the court shall have the plea of not guilty entered, and the trial shall proceed as if the accused had entered that plea, and judgment upon the verdict in any such trial shall be entered up as in cases of misdemeanor. The formal arraignment of the prisoner, the proclamation by the sheriff, and the charge of the clerk to the jury, as heretofore practiced, shall be dispensed with.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 62-3-2

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
  • Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.